|
The potential of Nepal’s social security allowance schemes to support emergency flood response
|
Nepal is highly vulnerable to climate-related hazards. While every year Nepal faces predictable seasonal weather patterns which often result in floods, droughts or fires, the country also experiences more severe natural hazards which are likely to increase in frequency and intensity in the future. In 2015, two earthquakes killed nearly 9,000 people and injured almost 22,000 people. In 2017, devastating floods hit 27 of the country’s 75 districts, affecting 1.7 million people. Eight districts were particularly hard hit. The floods destroyed almost 65,000 homes and displaced 461,000 people (91,400 families), resulting in a lack of food, water, sanitation, medicines, shelter, education, recovery and protection. Nepal’s approach to disasters has shifted in recent years, with the 2017 DRRM Act promoting resilience and preparedness as well as response. In addition, innovative approaches by emergency and development actors have sought to respond to an increasing scale of need. The role of social protection in responding to shocks is one of these approaches and it has seen increased high-level policy attention in recent years (e.g. the High-level Panel consultation meeting between GoN, donors and development partners in June 2018 in Kathmandu and the recent study on adaptive social protection commissioned by the World Bank (Slater et al., 2018)). These discussions have included a focus on the potential use of cash-based responses through the existing SSA system1 to respond to emergencies (as was done in the 2015 Ghorka earthquake), as well identifying the need for feasible and sustainable approaches to respond to shocks under the evolving federal system.
In this context, the aim of this study is to complement ongoing work on the role of social protection in responding to emergencies in the country. It is part of a project aimed at generating new policy-relevant evidence to strengthen the preparedness of Nepal’s SSA schemes for disaster response. The study uses a mixed-methods research approach to assess the potential role of the SSA schemes to support emergency response efforts in future floods. We analyzed data from the NHRVS survey (World Bank, 2017) and collected qualitative data in three districts (Bardiya, Jhapa and Rautahat). Specifically, we assessed the robustness of targeting and coverage in the context of flood response, the social acceptability of using SSA schemes to support emergency response, and capacity and coordination issues in delivering a timely response to a flood-affected population. The report is structured as follows. Section 2 provides an overview of the research methodology. Section 3 provides an overview of the coverage of SSA schemes and their institutional arrangements. Section 4 provides a brief overview of the risk and vulnerability profile in Nepal, the disaster risk management policy and institutional arrangements, and key informants’ perceptions about the potential linkages between the SSA schemes and disaster risk management (DRM). Section 5 then assesses the current state of flood response in the case study areas, drawing on our qualitative data. Section 6 appraises potential opportunities and challenges of using SSA schemes in response to floods, drawing on the analysis from the quantitative and qualitative data. Section 7 discusses and concludes, including a focus on the implications of the findings for future policy.
Ref: https://www.unicef.org/nepal/media/3401/file/%20Report%20%7C%20The%20potential%20of%20Nepal%E2%80%99s%20social%20security%20allowance%20schemes%20to%20support%20emergency%20flood%20response.pdf
|
Publisher:
unicef/ukaid/ Nepal Institution for social and environmental research
,
(2019
) |
Type / Script:
Publication
in English
|
Keywords:
SOCIAL INSURANCE, SOCIAL PROTECTION, FAMILY ALLOWANCES, INCOME MAINTENANCE
NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE, OLD AGE BENEFITS, UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE, INCOME POLICY, INSURANCE, SOCIAL LEGISLATION, SOCIAL SECURITY LEGISLATION, SOCIAL SECURITY, CONTRIBUTIONS, SOCIAL WELFARE, DISABILITY BENEFITS,RIGHT TO LIBERTY AND SECURITY OF PERSON
|
Thematic Group:
UNICEF
:
Children Fund
|
Thesaurus:
14.05.03
- Social Development
|
Reference Link:
|
|
|
** This document has been:
1141
times viewed
3
times downloaded. Feeder:
PRATIBHA DAWADI@GMAIL COM
, Editor:
RAJENDRA MAN BANEPALI
, Auditor:
View Document History
|
|
|
|
|
|
|